Orientalism in French Classical Drama: 69 (Cambridge Studies in French, Series Number 69) - Hardcover

Longino, Michèle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521807212 ISBN 13: 9780521807210

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Michèle Longino examines the ways in which Mediterranean exoticism inflects the themes represented in French classical drama. Longino explores plays by Corneille, Molière and Racine, Le Cid, Médée, and Le Bourgeois gentilhomme among others. She offers a consideration of the role the staging of the near Orient played in shaping a sense of French colonial identity. Drawing on histories, travel journals, memoirs and correspondence, and bringing together literary and historical concerns, Longino considers these dramatizations in the context of French-Ottoman relations at the time of their production. She argues that what goes on in the cultural space of the theatre speaks to the larger domestic and international issues of the time, with important repercussions in our own postcolonial era. These plays continue to loom large in French cultural production even today, perpetuating a notion of 'Frenchness' that is meanwhile being increasingly put into question by the very demographics of France.

About this title

Review:

'... we are happily moved away from canonical issues relating to direct sources to a refreshing and thought-provoking perspective.' French Studies

Book Description:

Michèle Longino examines the ways in which Mediterranean exoticism inflects the themes represented in French classical drama. Longino explores plays by Corneille, Molière and Racine, and offers a consideration of the role the staging of the near Orient played in shaping a sense of French colonial identity.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0521807212
• ISBN 13: 9780521807210
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 292